Who opens a beautifully wrapped gift expecting the box to be empty? Have you ever been anticipating an apology, and the words spoken are empty and meaningless? When a family member borrows your car and returns it on empty, how bad does that feel? Empty never feels like a gift, but there is one exception. God gave us the gift of an empty tomb because if it had been occupied by a corpse, there would have been no gift.
The emptiness of the tomb fills us with the hope of eternal life. It forever represents the conquering of death and future, celestial reunions with loved ones and friends. In the case of Jesus, the empty tomb was a gift to all humanity. It initially stirred feelings of confusion among the first discoverers, but those reactions quickly turned to joy.
The divine irony of Easter is that Jesus' death brings life, and His empty tomb brings fullness. The echoing hallows of that grave, the grandest of gifts, keeps multiplying and producing other gifts that we are able to enjoy daily. An empty gift has never felt so good when it's connected to resurrection.
Empty is the new good when it comes to God's "foolish" plan to demonstrate His love for us. The echoes are still heard around the world. The gift of the empty tomb has changed my life forever, and it can change yours as well. Do something different this weekend. Celebrate, believe in, and tell someone else about the Empty Gift.
Ex nihilo (out of nothing),
R.J. Rhoden
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